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Summertime, and the growing is easy. This week, we’ll be taking you through the seasonal ingredients you should be cooking with in August. Today: plums.

Little Jack Horner and William Carlos Williams both know what’s up: plums are pretty close to irresistible, whether you’re sitting in a corner, fishing around in a pie for them with your thumb, or you’re stealing some, so sweet, and so cold, that your friend meant to eat for breakfast. Like its whole pitted family, the plum’s prime season is tragically short, but we’re in the thick of it right now, so get to buying, cooking, and eating these delicious, dark fruits.

HOW TO BUY

Look for plums that don’t have any obvious blemishes, brown spots, or suspicious soft spots, and that are as ripe as you want them to be–if you’ve got a few days to let them ripen at room temperature, firm is fine, but you want them a little bit squishy if you’re planning on picnicking right in the parking lot. Perfectly ripe plums should be nicely fragrant, too.

HOW TO STORE

Once they’re ripe, plums will stay close to perfect for 3-5 days in the fridge (or icebox, if you’re roomies with WCW), but not much longer.